Making the Most of Your Groceries

Because rotten tomatoes are only helpful in a movie review context.

There's that stereotype that college kids are so messy or lazy or whatever that they live in a ever-growing pile of dirty laundry and rotten food. While probably true of some, this is mostly an unfair generalization. 

But that doesn't mean that we don't end up buying food that goes bad before we can use it. 

Our friend Orangina asked for our input. Since grocery shopping is actually something we're usually good at, I'll oblige. But check out our upcoming "Empty Fridge Chronicles" to see what happens when things go wrong.

Chicken and Broccoli Over A TON of Rice

Chicken and Broccoli: simple and delicious.
We're still no good at taking pictures of food.

Stir frying is the seminal collegiate cooking technique. All you do is throw vegetation and maybe some meat in a pan. Thing is, warm vegetables over rice, or warm vegetables soaked in soy sauce over rice, can get old. Bean and I decided to venture out into some uncharted territory.

In the Madison County Price Chopper, there is an aisle labeled 'MEXICAN.' In this aisle, there is a section called 'RICE.' In this section, there is very little rice, but there are lots of bottles and jars full of things like Szechuan sauce, Thai Chile paste, water chestnuts, and those weird little corns.

Inspired, we decided to attempt a version of Chicken and Broccoli.

"Guilt-Free" Homemade Potato Chips

Okay, to be clear, these potato chips are exactly as fatty and unhealthy as almost any other chip. They are only "guilt-free" because they're made by you and not a factory. But it's okay. You were going to eat them anyway, and at least these don't have chemicals.

Remember that time that Bean and I made potatoes? Well, we didn't either. So we had a giant bag of leftover potatoes that had been sitting around for we're not sure how long.

They looked kind a funky and felt distinctly soft.
So obviously, all systems go.

The only logical option to make snacks.

Nug Gets Exotic with Super Food

Pasta with swiss chard, white beans, and walnuts.
Weird or worth eating?
Questions answered below!

I've been reflecting on my college experience and I've come to this conclusion: juniors compare family recipes like freshman compare regional accents. Thankfully, junior year epiphanies go beyond "huh, that's weird," and are the key to broadening your culinary horizons, expanding your recipe repertoire, and opening doors to newfound realms of tastiness.

It even looks like alien food. 

Case in point, swiss chard.

Until Bean and I started cooking together, swiss chard was something that happened on Food Network. But in the Bean household, it's standard fare.



Bean introduced me to swiss chard through Spaghetti with Swiss Chard, White Beans, and Walnuts. However, the Pasta + Beans + Greens formula can be adapted to fit the contents of any pantry.

Don't like white beans? How about black beans or chickpeas? Less exotic greens you could try? Bean says kale, spinach, and escarole.

So, spinach, right guys? Because I don't know what the other two taste like either. But you should try swiss chard because it's both Christmas-colored and delicious.

Regardless, you have garlic and red pepper flakes to make things as tasty and spicy as you want. The possibilities are endless. And you're combining all of the super foods. Get crazy with it.

Manicotti: Italian for Sleeves, Nugspeak for Home

Some weeks at college, you just really want to go home.

Sometimes just I want to be a baby with
a snuggy and manicotti. 

Maybe you have seven papers in as many days or your roommate gave you fleas, but for me it's usually when 1) I'm sick, or 2) the dining hall was especially depressing.

My solution -- manicotti. Just saying "manicotti" conjures up memories of birthdays and holidays filled with cheesy, saucy goodness.

For those of you not familiar with manicotti, it's basically a lasagna burrito. That sounds super gross, so I'll just explain.

Pizza Pizzazz

    

Blog readers, I have a confession to make: we have been holding out on you. I know you thought that we faithfully updated you on all our culinary adventures, and days we didn't post were days (or weeks) when we simply did not eat. But the truth is, we've been hiding an important part of our diet from you: the over-abundance of pizza.

The pizza that started it all.

In all its crappy cell phone photo glory.

It was a delicious homemade pizza that first prompted Domsicle to suggest that we start a blog. Since then, it has been one of our most reliable standbys. Now that we've developed a relationship of trust with you, blog readers, we're ready to share.

Weekday Breakfast: Make it Portable

The perfect A.M. sustenance.

If breakfast is the most important meal of the day, I am screwed. I never wake up early enough, so my body is lucky if it gets a handful of dry Cheerios on my way out the door. Breakfast bars would be a good option, but they're expensive.

And they're not a "balanced breakfast" either. For that, you need three different beverages, pancakes, eggs, cereal, fruit, bats, orangutans -- it's not going to happen for a college student on the go.

Bean and I stumbled on the solution: the Banana Oatmeal Cups from GreenLite Bites. We've been calling them Breakfast Bites, and they have revolutionized our breakfast experience. By which I mean, I now eat breakfast.